In Matthew 4, Jesus gives us the perfect weapon to use against all the wiles of the devil.  That weapon is the Word of God.  When the devil tried to tempt Jesus, He simply turned his attention to God’s Word saying, on each occasion, “It is written.”

The Word of God is our best weapon to use against the devil as well.  It is both an offensive and defensive weapon.  We can defend ourselves against Satan’s attacks, and we can attack him with scripture.  Which weapon we use depends on the situation.  When the devil goes on the offensive, we ward him off with the Word of God.

When things get tight financially, the devil will try to convince you that you are all alone and without help, but the Word of God reminds you that God will take care of you, for it is written, “And my God shall supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). 

When the devil tries to persuade us into thinking we can please God with inconsistent service, God’s Word warns us of the danger of such service, for it is written, “…be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:58).

When your brother sins against you, Satan wants you to hold a grudge, even after he repents, but you recall that the scriptures demand that you forgive, for it is written, “…if your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him” (Luke 17:3).

This is how the Word of God defends us against the assaults of the devil.  When we allow the Word of Christ to dwell in us richly (Colossians 3:16), we are ready to combat anything Satan throws at us.

We should also be ready to attack.  We should be on the offensive against all false doctrines and those who teach them.  False teachers are simply agents of the devil.

2 Corinthians 11:13-15 (ESV)
¹³  For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. ¹⁴  And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. ¹⁵  So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.

Paul tells us what to do when it comes to those who work for the devil.

Ephesians 5:11 (ESV)
¹¹  Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.

John also exhorts us to be on the offensive against the devil and his agents.  He tells us to “test the spirits to see whether they are from God” (1 John 4:1).  We do this by doing what the Bereans did when they heard Paul preach, that is, examine the scriptures to see what he was teaching was so (Acts 17:11).

If Jesus used the Word of God to fight off the devil, it must be a good idea for us to do the same.  The devil is not going to quit coming after us.  Let’s defeat him with God’s Word.

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.